Gion

Soru didn't leave a Flying Thunder God Kunai near the dorms because he always liked to walk back to the dorms alone after training. But today, Soru wasn't alone.

Today, a small black cat sat on his shoulder. The two were walking leisurely down the road, in complete silence.

However, this was only on the surface. In Soru's mind, Metis's mature voice was chattering incessantly, "Master, can I stay by your side from now on?"

"Of course."

"Hehe, I love you, Master. Actually, I'm a girl."

"I know that."

"It's not the kind of kitten you're thinking of. Never mind, you'll know later!"

"Hmm? I've noticed since a moment ago, can you hear my thoughts?"

"I can hear some of them. If your thoughts are about me, I can hear them."

"Oh, okay. That's not bad either."

Just as Soru was chatting animatedly with Metis, a spherical figure appeared in the distance and rapidly approached Soru's direction.

Metis immediately became alert. Having just been born, it was wary of all creatures except Soru.

"Master, someone's coming."

"I see him. Don't worry, it's fine."

Soru reached out and patted Metis, indicating that the approaching person was an ally.

The figure grew closer, and Soru had already recognized who it was: Bridge. Seeing Soru, Bridge's face lit up, and he waved, shouting, "Boss! That beautiful officer is here again! She's waiting for you by the dorms!"

Hiss, Soru almost forgot about Gion. He slapped his forehead and, just like last time, scooped up Bridge and took off like a rocket.

Experiencing flight again, Bridge felt utterly resigned. He didn't struggle anymore. There was a saying, wasn't there? Often, life is like XX. If you can't resist, why not enjoy it?

As soon as they landed, a figure lunged into Soru's arms, tightly hugging his waist.

The person who lunged into Soru's arms was none other than the beautiful officer Bridge mentioned, Gion.

Even though she had waited for Soru all day and he had stood her up that afternoon, she showed no emotion. She had heard from Sengoku that Soru's eyes seemed to be having problems. Knowing how important those eyes were to Soru, she had rushed over, even dragging Bridge along to find him.

Seeing Soru appear before her, safe and sound, she finally relaxed completely.

Soru looked at Gion in his arms, his gaze softening. Without any hesitation, he reciprocated the embrace, holding Gion tightly.

Gion straightened up. However, because Soru was still shorter than her, when she straightened up, Soru's face was buried in the soft mounds of her chest.

Feeling Soru's hot breath on her chest, Gion's cheeks flushed like ripe apples. Seeing this, Bridge quickly ran away, his feet moving as fast as Soru's Soru.

But they all forgot about the little black cat present. As Soru, who was enjoying the "face washing" service, Soru suddenly heard a voice in his mind, "Master, are you going to mate with that human?"

Pfft! Soru spat out his drink. Gion, startled, thought Soru's eyes were still having problems.

Ignoring the wetness on her chest from Soru's spit, she quickly cupped Soru's face with both hands and peered intently at his Rinnegan. Hmm, apart from an extra Tomoe, there seemed to be no other issues.

"Ugh... I'm fine. I just choked. Cough, cough, I choked."

Gion's grip was a little too strong, Soru's mouth was pursed by her squeeze. He patted Gion's hands, letting her know not to worry, and took the opportunity to free his face.

At this point, Gion also noticed Metis on Soru's shoulder. As it was getting late and Metis's fur was dark, she hadn't noticed the small black cat on Soru's shoulder. Seeing Metis, Gion couldn't help but clap her hands and exclaim, "When did you get a cat? It's quite cute."

As she said this, she reached out to pet Metis. Unexpectedly, Metis vanished instantly, reappearing on Soru's other shoulder the next second, giving Gion a provocative glance.

This startled Gion. Metis's speed just now was more than twice as fast as Bridge's Soru.

This could not possibly be an ordinary cat. Ignoring Metis's provocation, she turned to Soru with a curious expression.

Soru didn't hide anything from her. Gion was the person closest to him in the entire Marines. What could he possibly hide from her? He simply explained Metis's birth and identity to Gion.

After a long while, Gion took great effort to accept everything she had just heard. If it wasn't Soru, this man who couldn't be understood by conventional means, telling her, she would have slapped the person straight to the Great Buddha.

Taking a deep breath, Gion slowly spoke, "So, you're saying this black cat is the embodiment of that Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, the Matatabi?"

"Yes. I gave her a name, Metis."

"Metis? Hmm, it's a nice name. So, she's a female cat?"

"Ah, yes."

Soru looked at Gion, somewhat bewildered. As a cat, did gender really matter?

Gion certainly didn't think so. Metis's anthropomorphic expressions and actions just now made her, as a woman, feel a sense of crisis. And it wasn't the kind of crisis that came from combat!

But she couldn't possibly compete with a cat, could she? Shaking her head, Gion poked Soru's chest with her finger and said, with a hint of seduction, "Alright, Soru, remember what I promised you?"

"Of course, I remember!"

Here it comes! The final reward is here! Soru was a little excited and subconsciously hugged Gion's arm tighter.

"You're hurting me!" Gion playfully yet exasperatedly slapped Senga's arm. Senga realized he was being a bit too eager and quickly eased the pressure on his arm.

It wasn't Senga's fault. This was his third life, and he was still an absolute beginner.

On Earth, he was an orphan, struggling just to feed himself. In Naruto, he was constantly facing mortal danger, so he never had the energy to think about such things.

Gion wasn't really angry with him, of course. She continued, "It's good that you remember. You've already achieved what we talked about, so just tell me what your condition is."

After saying that, she hesitated to meet Senga's eyes and turned her head away.

Senga, meanwhile, released her from his embrace. He gently cupped Gion's chin, making her turn her head to face him, and then said earnestly, "My condition is that I want you to be mine. This condition... is that okay?"

Gion stared at him blankly. Without a doubt, this was the condition she wanted to hear the most.

Actually, when she proposed that goal to Senga at the dormitory entrance back then, it was to confirm Senga's feelings. She had already developed feelings for him by then, but she was a little uncertain about his emotions. In a moment of impulse, she had set a goal that she thought was too difficult.

She never expected Senga to achieve it in just one year. Now he was turning it around and stating the condition she most wanted to hear. At this moment, Gion felt nothing but overwhelming happiness.

Shyness wasn't her nature. The moment Senga stated his condition, his lips were met with a kiss. After a brief moment of stunned silence, Senga didn't hesitate and responded with equal passion.

The only witness to this moment was Metis on someone's shoulder. She had her little paws covering her eyes, but a slight gap between them seemed to suggest the little cat wasn't being entirely innocent.